Cap for sealing a liquid product container

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a capsule for closing a receptacle (R) for a liquid and for dispensing said liquid, said capsule being characterized in that it comprises: A capsule for closing a receptacle (R) for a liquid and for dispensing said liquid, said capsule being characterized in that it comprises: an inner support element ( 1 ) designed to be fixed on the neck (C) of the receptacle (R) and including a central bushing ( 11 ) having a side wall provided with an ejection orifice ( 10 ); and an outer closure element ( 2 ) that is fastened onto said inner element ( 1 ) and which includes a central ring ( 21 ) provided with an outlet duct ( 20 ), said central ring ( 21 ) being designed to surround said bushing ( 11 ) in coaxial and rotary manner so as to establish at least one closed position in which the ejection orifice ( 10 ) is sealed and at least one dispensing position in which said orifice is in communication with the outlet duct ( 20 ).

The present invention relates to a capsule for closing a receptacle fora liquid and for dispensing said liquid. More precisely, the inventionrelates to closing flexible and elastically deformable receptacles.

Closing receptacles for liquids and, in particular, for cosmetics(milks, gels, creams . . . ) is conventionally ensured by means of aremovable cap screwed or snap-fastened on the neck of a receptacle thatcan be flexible or rigid. However, that method of closure requires thecap to be put back on systematically after each occasion on which liquidis removed.

Unfortunately, in some circumstances, the user does not carry out thatoperation and/or loses the cap, thus leaving the receptacle permanentlyopen, and thereby leading to a serious risk of the quality of the liquiddeteriorating.

Furthermore, it is sometimes difficult to close the receptacle when toomuch liquid is deposited around the neck of the receptacle and caninterfere with the cap being screwed-on or snap-fastened. It is thusnecessary to clean the neck before closing the receptacle.

In addition, conventional closure methods require the neck of thereceptacle to be provided with capretaining members such as threads orfastening lugs, thereby complicating the manufacturing process.

In a variant, the cap is constituted by a fixed portion provided with anoutlet duct, and a moving portion connected to the fixed portion bymeans of a hinge and forming means for closing said duct.

However, that variant is very bulky since the two portions are disposedoutside the receptacle and, in the open position, the moving portionprojects from the neck.

Furthermore, dispensing of the liquid can be hindered by the movingportion which remains fixed to the fixed portion.

In embodiments having threads, the cap is sometimes constituted by aportion that is moved axially by being screwed onto a fixed portion.

The cap is thus closed by co-operation between the ejection orifice ofthe outlet duct and a pin.

However, during axial displacement of the moving portion to the closedposition, an additional and unwanted quantity of liquid is ejected.

A variant also exists to the embodiment described in EP 0 452 196, thevariant comprising:

an inner support element designed to be fixed on the neck of thereceptacle and including a central bushing having a side wall providedwith an ejection orifice; and

an outer closure element that is fastened onto said inner element sothat it cannot be displaced axially and which includes a central ringprovided with an outlet duct, said central ring being designed tosurround said bushing in coaxial and rotary manner so as to establish atleast one closed position in which the ejection orifice is sealed and atleast one dispensing position in which said orifice is in communicationwith the outlet duct.

However, that variant does not make it possible to ensure that the outerclosure element is locked in a position in which the outlet duct isclosed and sealed.

An object of the present invention is to resolve the technical problemsposed by previous closure methods.

This object of the invention is achieved by means of a capsule of theabove-mentioned type, said capsule being characterized in that theinside wall of said ring is provided, over an angular sector, with arecess having both side edges that respectively form two abutmentsdesigned to co-operate with a bulge carried by the outside wall of saidbushing and also a ridge suitable for co-operating resiliently with saidbulge to produce a snap action corresponding to the outer elementpassing into the closed position in which the outlet duct defined bysaid recess is sealed.

According to an advantageous characteristic, on either side of thedispensing position, the inside wall of said ring is in sealed slidingcontact with the outside wall of the bushing.

In these conditions, the angular distance on the bushing between thebulge and the ejection orifice is not greater than the angular length ofthe sector forming the outlet duct of the ring.

According to yet another characteristic, said ring is extended axiallyby an annular lip defining a substantially tapering conial tip.

According to other characteristics, the inner element includes aperipheral collar of U-shaped section that is fitted over and that locksonto the neck of the receptacle.

In a particularly advantageous variant, the central bushing is fullyreceived inside the neck of the receptacle by being fastened by a spacerto the inner branch of said collar.

In another variant, the inside wall of said collar is provided withsplines ensuring locking of the inner element against rotation.

In addition, the central ring is fastened laterally, via a shoulder, toa peripheral skirt provided with a fastening member for fastening ontothe inner element.

In an advantageous variant, said ejection orifice is formed by aloophole made in the side wall of the central bushing.

The capsule of the invention is ergonomic by offering compactness, andit adapts very easily to standard receptacle necks.

In the closed position it ensures perfect sealing and in the openposition it ensures even and accurate dispensing.

The sealed closed position is achieved by rotating the outer element onthe inner element and is accompanied by a snap action which ensures thatthe closure is locked and sealed.

In addition, operations of assembling together the inner and outerelements and of mounting the assembly on the neck of the receptacle arequick and very easy and they can easily be automated.

The invention will be better understood on reading the followingdescription accompanied by the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is an axial section view of an embodiment of the capsule of theinvention; and

FIG. 2 is a view partially in section on II—II of the embodiment of FIG.1, in the open position.

The capsule shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is designed to ensure the closure ofa receptacle R for liquid and, more particularly, for cosmetics of themilk, gel, or cream type, and, in the open position, it also enables theliquid to be dispensed.

The capsule comprises a support element 1 designed to be fixed on theneck C of the receptacle R and including a central bushing 11 having aside wall provided with an ejection orifice 10 for ejecting the liquid.The capsule also comprises a closure element 2 which is designed to bemounted by fastening onto the outside of the support element. However,the element 2 cannot be displaced axially relative to the support 1. Tothis end, the outer closure element 2 includes a central ring 21surrounding the bushing 11 in coaxial and rotary manner in a singletransverse plane. The ring 21 includes an outlet duct 20 that is capableof being put into communication with the ejection orifice 10 in at leastone “dispensing” position. On either side of this position, the insidewall of the ring is in sealed sliding contact with the outside wall ofthe bushing and closes the orifice 10 is sealed manner.

The inner element 1 also includes a peripheral collar 12 of U-shapedsection that is fitted over and that locks onto the rim of the neck C ofthe receptacle R.

To this end, the collar 12 is fitted with fastening members 12 adesigned to co-operate with the lip B of the neck C.

The central bushing 11 is fully received inside the neck C by beingfastened by a spacer 14 to the inner branch of the collar 12, therebypreserving the appearance of the receptacle and offering compactness.

In the embodiment shown, the outside wall of the ring 21 is in contactwith the wall of the inner branch of the collar 12.

In addition, the inside edge of the ring 21 is chamfered to enable it tobe inserted in the annular housing situated between the bushing 11 andthe collar 12.

To prevent the bushing 11 from rotating relative to the neck C, theinside wall of the collar 12 is provided with splines 16 which clampradially against the inside wall of said neck thereby ensuring rotarylocking of the inner element 1. Consequently, only the outer element 2with its ring 21 can move.

The ring 21 can be turned through 360° or, as in the embodiment shown,through at least a portion θ of the circumference.

In FIG. 2, the outer element 2 is shown in the open position afterhaving been turned in the direction of arrow O. From this position, itis possible to close the ejection orifice 10 of the bushing 11 byturning the ring 21 in the direction of arrow F.

In this case, an angular sector α is defined by the side edges formingabutments with a recess 21 a defining the duct 20. The abutments aredesigned to co-operate with a bulge 13 carried by the outside wall ofsaid bushing 11 so as to establish respectively a sealed closed positionof the capsule, and a fully open position of the ejection orifice 10 fordispensing the liquid.

The width of the bulge 13 defines the size of the portion θ over whichthe ring 21 can turn freely within the sector α.

The angular distance on the bushing 11 between the bulge 13 and theejection orifice 10 is thus not greater than the angular length of thesector a forming the duct 20.

The recess 21 a is provided with a ridge 23 extending parallel to thegenerator lines of the bushing 21. The ridge 23 is suitable forco-operating by resilient deformation with the bulge 13 to produce asnap action corresponding to the ejection orifice 10 passing into thesealed closed position.

The central ring 21 is fastened laterally, via a shoulder 22, to aperipheral skirt 24.

The skirt 24 is provided with a fastening member 25 co-operating with aradial projection 15 carried by the outer branch of the collar 12 of theinner element 1 in order to secure the outer element 2 thereon.

The skirt 24 is preferably provided with fluting 27 to improve manualgrip while turning the outer element 2.

The outlet duct 20 opens out longitudinally to the outside (i.e.downwards in FIGS. 1 and 2) and is suitable for being fed transverselywith liquid via the ejection orifice 10 which is formed in the side wallof the bushing 11 in the form of a loophole. The ring 21 is extendedaxially, beyond the shoulder 22, by an annular lip 26. The lip 26defines a tapering conial tip 30 enabling the liquid to be made to flowone way in funneled manner, and thus enabling accurate dispensing to beachieved.

What is claimed is:
 1. A capsule for closing a receptacle for a liquidand for dispensing said liquid, said capsule comprising: an innersupport element designed to be fixed on the neck of the receptacle andincluding a central bushing having a side wall provided with an ejectionorifice; and an outer closure element that is fastened onto said innerelement so that it cannot be displaced axially and which includes acentral ring provided with an outlet duct, said central ring beingdesigned to surround said bushing in coaxial and rotary manner so as toestablish at least one closed position in which the ejection orifice issealed and at least one dispensing position in which said orifice is incommunication with the outlet duct, wherein the inside wall of said ringis provided, over an angular sector, with a recess having both sideedges that respectively form two abutments designed to co-operate with abulge carried by the outside wall of said bushing and also a ridgesuitable for cooperating resiliently with said bulge to produce a snapaction corresponding to the outer element passing into the closedposition in which the outlet duct defined by said recess is sealed.
 2. Acapsule according to claim 1, wherein on either, side of the dispensingposition, the inside wall of said ring is in sealed sliding contact withthe outside wall of the bushing.
 3. A capsule according to claim 1 or 2,wherein the angular distance on the bushing between the bulge and theejection orifice is not greater than the angular length of the sectorforming the outlet duct of the ring.
 4. A capsule according to claims 1or 2, wherein said ring is extended axially by an annular lip defining asubstantially tapering conial tip.
 5. A capsule according to claim 1,wherein the inner element includes a peripheral collar of U-shapedsection that is fitted over and that locks onto the neck of thereceptacle.
 6. A capsule according to claim 5, wherein the centralbushing is fully received inside the neck of the receptacle by beingfastened by a spacer to the inner branch of said collar.
 7. A capsuleaccording to claim 5, wherein the inside wall of said collar is providedwith anti-rotation locking splines.
 8. A capsule according to claim 1 or2, wherein the central ring is fastened laterally, via a shoulder, to aperipheral skirt provided with a fastening member for fastening onto theinner element.
 9. A capsule according to claim 1 or 2, wherein saidejection orifice is formed by a loophole made in the side wall of thecentral bushing.
 10. A Capsule according to claim 1 or 2, wherein theangular distance on the bushing between the bulge and the ejectionorifice is not greater than the angular length of the sector forming theoutlet duct of the ring and wherein said ring is extended axially by anannular lip defining a substantially tapering conial tip.
 11. A capsuleaccording to claim 5, wherein the inner element includes a peripheralcollar of U-shaped section that is fitted over and that locks onto theneck of the receptacle and wherein the central bushing is fully receivedinside the neck of the receptacle by being fastened by a spacer to theinner branch of said collar.
 12. A capsule according to claim 5, 6 or 7,wherein the central ring is fastened laterally, via a shoulder, to aperipheral skirt provided with a fastening member for fastening onto theinner element.
 13. A capsule according to claim 5, 6 or 7, wherein saidejection orifice is formed by a loophole made in the side wall of thecentral bushing.